HOME | Brian Tinsman

BRIAN TINSMAN

game design, world-building,

& tokenomics consultant

ABOUT BRIAN

I lead game design and world-building projects for clients in online, mobile, and tabletop media. This includes gameplay systems, feature roadmaps, characters/story, token design, and economics. My strengths are ecosystem design, economic tuning, and creative content development. I've done this for many gaming categories such as web games, mobile games, digital collectibles, and token systems design in Web3 gaming. I’ve also done tokenomics for real estate, securities, and Web3 projects.

I have 18+ years as a game designer with credits on more than 50+ shipped titles worth $800+ million in revenue. In many cases, I created gameplay systems from the ground up, championed them with internal client teams, took them through revisions, and tuned them all the way up through launch and live service.

That experience also turns out to be highly relevant to the field of token design and economics, which involves designing mechanisms for digital assets, modeling and balancing complex virtual economies, and using game theory to incentivize users to act in the best interest of the network.

I was the lead game designer on Magic: The Gathering for 11 years. I've also worked on Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, Harry Potter, Transformers, Pokémon, MLB, Marvel, FarmVille, and Zynga Poker.

My career path is all about modeling how incentives drive decisions.

Specialties: Game Design, World-building, Tokenomics, Economic Modeling, Game Theory, Game Monetization, Ecosystems, Community Building, Blockchain, Product Development, Whitepapers, Creative Development

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ABOUT

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BLOCKCHAIN

EXPERIENCE

GAMES &

BOOKS

SKILLS & EXPERTISE

SKILLS

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GAME DESIGN &

GAME THEORY

I have 18 years of experience in game design and a graduate education in economics and game theory. Today I use these skills to help clients design games and ecosystems for their business needs.

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STORY & WORLD DEVELOPMENT

I bring creativity, writing, and world-building skills. I have a good understanding of storytelling, character development, and engaging narratives. This results in worlds that are believable and fun to explore.

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VIRTURAL ECONOMICS

I have 7+ years of experience designing online economic systems, optimization, and digital asset projects. I'm skilled at analyzing virtual ecosystems.

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DESIGN DOC WRITING

I have written and reviewed numerous design docs, specification docs, and white papers for games and digital asset trading systems.

EXPERIENCE

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2019 - PRESENT

Web3 Game Design Lead Consultant

PREDIXA GROUP LLC, AUSTIN, TX

I lead game design and world-building projects for clients in the Web3 space. This includes gameplay systems, feature roadmaps, characters/story, token design, and tokenomics. Client: 9x Emmy Award Winning Creative Studio, Baobab Studios.

JAN 2016 - JUNE 2021

Cryptoeconomist, Tech Writer, Consultant

NEM.IO FOUNDATION / NEM GROUP LTD.

I led token design, tokenomics, and data analytics services for clients building cryptocurrency, blockchain, and DLT projects.

APR 2018 - FEB 2019

Lead Game Designer

HE3 LABS, DALLAS, TX

I led token design, tokenomics, and data analytics services for clients building cryptocurrency, blockchain, and DLT projects.

OCT 2016 - MAY 2018

Head of Game Design

DGN GAMES, AUSTIN, TX

I designed player incentive systems and other data-driven metagame features to help business units reach KPI goals in the highly competitive online casino game industry.

OCT 2014 - OCT 2016

Executive Producer Dungeon Boss Mobile

BOSS FIGHT ENTERTAINMENT, DALLAS,TX

I led design teams for massively multiplayer games on iOS and Android with a focus on economics, guilds, and game-theory-driven incentive systems.

OCT 2013 - OCT 2014

Creative Director

DISNEY INTERACTIVE, AUSTIN, TX

I held the vision and designed specifications for new online products in Disney's strategy games category.

APR 2011 - OCT 2013

Director of Game Design

ZYNGA, SAN FRANCISCO, CA

I created features and led data-driven game design on titles representing over 800 million players, such as Farmville, Zynga Poker, Chefville, Dream Zoo, War of the Fallen, and others

APR 2007 - APR 2011

Senior Game Designer, Producer

WIZARDS OF THE COAST, RENTON, WA

I led design on numerous Magic: the Gathering sets representing over $400 million in revenue. I headed the game design department of WotC R&D.

SEPT 2006 - APR 2007

Lead Game Designer

FLOWPLAY, SEATTLE, WA

I led the design team in building the alpha version of OurWorld, a casual puzzle-based MMO with over 75 million players worldwide. I created the earliest version of the economic system.

1998 - 2005

Senior Game Designer, Producer

WIZARDS OF THE COAST, RENTON, WA

I was responsible for guiding new products through the product development life cycle for new product. I headed New Concept Acquisitions efforts, reviewing game licensing opportunities. I was the lead producer for Magic Online and a lead designer for Magic: The Gathering trading card game.

OTHER: Guest lecturer at University of Washington and University of Texas.

Member of Board of Advisors at Digital Future Lab.

Brian presenting on game design in Austin, Texas.